Trading standards officers are investigating complaints from house holders accusing an Abingdon firm of shoddy workmanship and poor service.

Four residents jointly contracted First Impressions Driveways (UK) Ltd to block-pave parking areas and driveways in front of their homes, at a cost of thousands of pounds.

The work was carried out under a three-year guarantee and completed at the start of 2000.

But the residents claim the surface began to sink and the paving slabs spread, causing increasingly large cracks.

They bombarded the company with numerous phone calls, but the firm, based at Culham industrial estate, off Station Road, has not yet repaired the faults.

Company director Peter Winks said: "We need to look at it to see if it is our work- manship. It could be something else like subsidence or problems with the ground on the site.

"We will survey it in the next couple of weeks and arrange with customers to do repair work if it is our problem."

Mr Winks said his company had been too busy in the summer to do anything about the paving, but any work would be carried out in the autumn or winter.

Amanda Halstead, one of the residents, who are from Cookham Dean, Buckinghamshire, paid more than £2,500 to have a block-paved parking space and driveway.

She said: "The whole thing is totally unsatisfactory.

"I would hope any company doing this would honour their word and guar- antees.

"We think they are playing for time. They are just fobbing us off."

The residents complained to trading standards officers covering Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Residents could sue the company.

However, trading standards cannot take action as no breaches of the criminal law have taken place.

Martin Allen, principal trading standards officer for Oxfordshire County Council, said: "We have had complaints about First Impr- essions.

"That does not mean they are a bad company or a good company."